Morris, the 10-month old cat, has been put forward as a candidate by his owner Sergio Camacho and is running under the slogan ‘Tired of Voting for Rats? Vote for a Cat.’
According to bigpond.com, Morris’ mayoral tilt has been attracting a lot of support from human beings on social media sites.
“He sleeps almost all day and does nothing, and that fits the profile of a politician,” said 35-year-old office worker Camacho.
Camacho’s comment, humorous as it may be, is symptomatic of a growing disillusionment amongst the Mexican populace with their political officials. Morris the cat is just one of a number of pets and farm animals whose owners have nominated them to run for political positions in the July 7 elections.
Amongst other animals running for mayor in different parts of the country include a donkey named Chon in Ciudad Juarez, a chicken called Tina in Tepic and a dog, named for the famous French adventurer/cartoon, Tintan in Oaxaca City.
While some might be quick to write Morris’ campaign off as an internet fad, Camacho has said that he has actually spoken with residents who intend to vote for his cat. They reportedly sight political corruption and fraudulent elections as reasons for them having lost faith in the political system to the point where they would actively cast their vote for a cat with orange eyes.
“Morris has been a catalyst to show the discontent that exists in our society,” Camacho is quoted by bigpond.com.
“Our message from the beginning has been ‘if none of the candidates represent you, vote for the cat’ and it seems people are responding to that.”
Morris’ success on social media has made him more popular on pages like Facebook than his mayoral opponents.
So, if anyone from Xalapa is reading this, we at TNT wholeheartedly endorse Morris. On July 7 we ask all residents to draw a smiley cat face with whiskers on your ballot and vote for a mayor with claws.
Image: bigpond.com
